Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Schaffer - image from from chrestomanci.over-blog.com - Schaffer wrote most of the book, but was terminally ill so called in her niece, Barrows, to help her complete it.The GL&PPPS tells of Nazi occupation of this Channel Island during WW II. The story is told via a series of letters exchanged between residents of the island and a writer attempting to learn about their experiences. We are offered a wide range of characters, some warm and charming, some extremist buffo

Once again I find myself reading ten pages of a book which is meant to be 'great' and wondering why it is just rubbish. I was meant to read this for a book club but it was about as palatable as a potato peel pie so I spat it out uneaten.Now, I'm sure there are American authors who can write in an authentic British voice (no one springs to mind, and Elizabeth George is terrible at it but at least her plot is not clunky) but Mary Ann Shaffer isn't one of them.This book has an epistolary plot that

definitely in the minority with my feelings on this one and i think its because im realising epistolary stories just arent for me.its a little ironic because, in one letter, juliets publisher says ‘ive read your chapters and they wont do. strings of anecdotes dont make a book.’ and thats all this book is! its full of letters with anecdotes. i do like that i learned about the island of guernsey, i appreciate the different perspective of WWII, and i LOVE the adoration for books (so many good quote...

Although the abrupt ending frustrated me, the rest of the book was so soothing. This is probably due to the fact it was written in letters to loved ones and not the subject matter itself, as it focuses heavily on the atrocities of WWII. Also, it's a book about books! Nothing makes me happier than reading a book about why reading is wonderful.I read this because I watched and loved the Netflix adaptation (yes, I'm that monster who sometimes watches adaptations before reading the source material)....

I'm in favor of:-pig farmers as romantic leads-parrots named Zenobia who eat cuckoo clocks-women who do the askingI'm not in favor of:-strong silent types as romantic leads-adorable children-parrots getting more page time than goats

*3.5 stars* “Perhaps there is some secret sort of homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers. How delightful if that were true.” Believe it or not—as shallow as this may sound—the stunning movie tie-in cover was the catalyst, goading me to take a hard look and commit to a book that’s done little more than float along my periphery for years.What do you get when you combine a roast pig dinner, an unavoidable lie and the most unappetizing pie? A mouthful: The Guernsey Lite...

‘’Real dyed-in-the-wool readers can’t lie. Our faces always give us away. A raised brow or a curled lip means that it’s a poor excuse for a book, and the clever customers ask for recommendation instead, whereupon we frog-march them over to a particular volume and command them to read it.’’ Following an exciting April, I chose to start May with a focus on more contemporary, approachable reads that are simple but rich in themes focusing on the relationships within a family, within the members o

Update 8/13/2018Just saw the movie adaptation. Very faithful to the book, if not in plot (can't remember details 7 years later), certainly in tone. Saccharine and especially annoying in its watered down portrayal of Nazi occupation. Suffering-lite. The words that immediately come to mind when I think of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society are nice, cute and, unfortunately, hokey(ish). I certainly understand its popularity (#4 most popular book of 2007 on Goodreads!). There is a dis...

I won an ARC of this book either from the NYer or from the publisher. I forget which, as it's been sitting around for a while.This epistolary novel is something I should have loved. I generally like novels in letters, it’s almost like peering into lighted windows at night as you pass, sewing the bits of life seen there into a coherent whole.It’s fun, this book, in its witty comments, sort of the way I wish I could talk all the time. Yet, about halfway through it began to pale. Everybody in the b...

Several years ago, I worked at an art gallery here in Anchorage. Though I loved the art, I wasn’t much good at selling it. More often than not, I just chatted up the customers, who were from all over the world.One night, four elderly people wandered in. They told me they were from a tiny island off the coast of southern England called “Guernsey”. I’d never heard of it, so they proudly explained it was the only part of British soil that had been occupied by the Nazis during World War II. The isla...

I loved this book - it's on my favorites shelf. So obviously I recommend it!In my March 2018 buddy read with Trish (which kind of disintegrated because she raced ahead and finished the whole book in like one day :p) I was impressed with how well the authors melded actual historical facts about the island of Guernsey during WWII, and people's wartime experiences, with the novel's storyline. I could see the seams a little - interesting true stories and anecdotes tend to show up in the book as rand...

Such a beautiful book, I wish I owned it as a real book, instead of on my Kindle, because I would reread it right now. The title is terrible or I would have tried it out sooner. It sounds so kitschy and is rather hard to pronounce too. Potato Peel Pie is a tongue twister!Written by Mary Ann Shaffer who was a librarian, an editor, and a great family storyteller, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, is an epistolary novel about the trials of the people living in the Channel Islands,

This was one of the lovliest books I have ever read. I have read many books and seen many movies about World War II, but this one was the best. It was so real. I felt like I knew the characters and I wanted to run over to Guernsey to meet them in person. The stories about their experiences were so touching, not just because they were hard, but because the people were so brave. Horrible things happened to them, but I didn't feel traumatized reading about them. I felt uplifted at their endurance a...